White House Weighs Designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guard a Terrorist Group

The U.S. is considering designating Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, Reuters reports. The U.S. has already blacklisted dozens of entities and people for affiliation with the IRGC. In 2007, the U.S. Treasury designated the IRGC’s Quds Force, in charge of its operations abroad, “for its support of terrorism,” and has said it is Iran’s “primary arm for executing its policy of supporting terrorist and insurgent groups.”

The objective of the move would be to dissuade foreign investment in Iran’s economy, because of the IRGC’s involvement in major sectors including transportation and oil. “The new administration regards Iran as the clearest danger to U.S. interests, and they’ve been looking for ways to turn up the heat,” said a senior U.S. official.